The title of "World Design Capital" has been called into question in the blogosphere of late, with what appears to be a rather underwhelming and bizarrely uneventful display by the current holder Seoul (Core77's report here).

With preparations for the reign of Helsinki in 2012 well underway, and in what appears a timely response to these criticisms, design students at Helsinki's still freshly formed Aalto University are taking matters into their own hands with a proposal they hope will bring life to the city streets, as the gaze of the global design community turns on the capital.

The "Urban Play" intervention (not to be confused with the Droog design event of the same name), if accepted by the local council, will take over bus and tram stops in the city, turning what would be an aggravating and irksome wait for visiting children and parents into an inspiring, multi-sensory play experience.

You've got to love the delightfully humble paper-cutout stop-frame used to promote the project (starts a little slow but view from 00:33 and onwards for the best bits).

Contributors to the project were Anna Wallendahl, Anna Törrönen, Yung-Lung Chang, Barbara Franz and Mikko Juntunen.

Take the jump for a couple more images of the proposal.